Title: Molecular Biology of Hepatitis B Viruses Location: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York 11724 Date: August 28 - 31, 1986 Expected Attendance: 150 - 250 researchers from the U.S. and Abroad The conference will consist of virologists, immunologists, epidemiologists, and physicians who are actively conducting research on the mechanisms of replication and pathogenesis of hepatitis B viruses in humans and experimental animals, their role in the genesis of primary liver cancer, and on the natural history of such hepatitis B virus infections. The emphasis will be on approaches that explain, in molecular terms, important aspects of the growth and pathogenesis of these viruses. We expect attendance of between 150 to 250 individuals including senior scientists, postdocs, and graduate students. The conference format will be similar to that of the 1985 meeting. Sessions for oral presentation will consist of ten minute presentations selected from among the submitted abstracts, and arranged according to subject. Other abstracts will be presented in a poster session. Knowledgeable scientists will be recruited to chair each session, stimulate discussion, and clarify issues. Although the final sessions will depend on the abstracts submitted, we will solicit abstracts in the areas of mechanisms of viral replication, mechanisms of transmission, pathogenesis, prevention, and antiviral therapy, mechanism of hepatocellular transformation by HBV infections, and modulation of the immune response to HBV infections.